Favorite lead vocal by any given band member on any given song?

[rogerlancelot]

Couldn't resist jumping in on this thread:

Brian: "Surf's Up" (new mix - not the '67 version)
Carl: "Full Sail"
Dennis: "Cuddle Up"
Mike: "Johnny Carson"
Al: "Honkin' Down The Highway"
Bruce: "Tears In The Morning"

I only picked group songs of course.....

[Curtis Leon]

Brian = Surf's Up or Here Comes the Night
Carl = I Can Hear Music
Dennis = Cuddle Up or Be With Me
Mike = Big Sur or All I Wanna Do
Al = Cottonfields (either version)
Bruce = Disney Girls (1957)

[Stegibo]

Brian = Male Ego
Carl = Where I Belong
Dennis = Forever
Mike = Pisces Brothers
Al = Susie Cincinnati
Bruce = I Write The Songs

[Sie W]

Brian = When a Man Needs a Woman
Carl = Wild Honey
Dennis = Forever
Mike = Aren't You Glad (Live In London)
Al = Don't Worry Baby (Concert 73)
Bruce = Tears In The Morning
Murry = The Colonel's March

[Domino]

Brian = I Just Wasn't Made for These Times or Transcendental Meditation
Carl = Life Is For The Living
Dennis = Little Bird
Mike = All I Want to Do
Al = On Broadway
Bruce = Disney Girls

[shelter]

Carl: God Only Knows
Dennis: Forever
Mike: Aren't You Glad
Brian: Surf's Up
Al: Lookin' Down The Coast (Beach Boys version)
Bruce: Tears In The Morning

[runnersdialzero]

Brian = I Just Wasn't Made for These Times or Transcendental Meditation
Carl = Life Is For The Living
Dennis = Little Bird
Mike = All I Want to Do
Al = On Broadway
Bruce = Disney Girls

I'm gonna go ahead and say I love you for naming "Transcendental Meditation" and "Life Is For The Living".

[hypehat]

Brian = I Just Wasn't Made for These Times or Transcendental Meditation
Carl = Life Is For The Living
Dennis = Little Bird
Mike = All I Want to Do
Al = On Broadway
Bruce = Disney Girls

I'm gonna go ahead and say I love you for naming "Transcendental Meditation" and "Life Is For The Living".

I love him too, especially for naming All I Want To Do as well.


Ok.
Brian - Surf's Up
Mike - The Surf n Turf stuff - he rocks all those songs. Let's say 'I Get Around' for the sake of argument.
Carl - I'm really fond of Friends. But the one I'm loving atm is It's Getting Late, believe it or not. His vocals are insane on that.
Dennis - Cuddle Up
Al - Be Here In The Morning. Or Heroes and Villains live in the 70's.
Bruce - the Disney Girls performance from OGWT.

[Matt H]

Brian = When a Man Needs a Woman
Carl = Wild Honey
Dennis = Forever
Mike = Aren't You Glad (Live In London)
Al = Don't Worry Baby (Concert 73)
Bruce = Tears In The Morning
Murry = The Colonel's March

"The Colonel's March" = classic

[Pinder's Gone To Kokomo And Back Again]

What's the matter with you people? The Trader is Carl's best vocal. How can you all be so obtuse? Except you Erik H, you're alright. The rest of you though....

Much appreciated! Yeah, Trader is THE merda! It goes from being "wow, this is Carl's best rockin' vocal" to "wow, this is Carls' best ballad vocal" without skipping a beat.  And that is indeed saying something. Guy had the best voice of anyone ever in history! Yes, Brian could communicate more pain and Dennis: more Dennis, but Carl had the tool, the goods! He was the real thing and no one had better forget it.

Hugh: happy to see Full Sail getting some props. That track gives me goosebumps and comes in at # 2 by the slightest of hairs.

[Domino]

Brian = I Just Wasn't Made for These Times or Transcendental Meditation
Carl = Life Is For The Living
Dennis = Little Bird
Mike = All I Want to Do
Al = On Broadway
Bruce = Disney Girls

I'm gonna go ahead and say I love you for naming "Transcendental Meditation" and "Life Is For The Living".

I especially like the ending of Life Is For The Living, Carl sounds insane

[Sie W]

Brian = When a Man Needs a Woman
Carl = Wild Honey
Dennis = Forever
Mike = Aren't You Glad (Live In London)
Al = Don't Worry Baby (Concert 73)
Bruce = Tears In The Morning
Murry = The Colonel's March

"The Colonel's March" = classic

Syncopated chicken at its best !!

[runnersdialzero]

Also: Ah, what the hell.

Al: "Help Me Rhonda"
Blondie: "Sail On, Sailor" (derp)
Brian: "Surf's Up" ('66 demo) or basically anything else he sang
Bruce: "Deirdre"
Carl: "Cabinessence" or basically anything else he sang
Dennis: "In The Back Of My Mind", because I picture Dennis sneaking downstairs for a snack in the middle of the night while singing it, afraid of waking his woman because she told him to cut back on the sweets and fatty foods.
Mike: "All I Wanna Do"

[Griffmanr]

Favorites:

Brian -So many ways I can go with this one, so I'll choose three

-"She Knows Me too Well" (For the Ballads)
-"I'm Waiting for the Day" (For the Rockin' voice)
-"I'd Love Just Once to See You" (I just love this one)

Carl - "I Can Hear Music" or if I'm in the right mood... "Shortenin' Bread (Adult Child Version)" or anything really

Dennis - "Slip on Through"

Al - "Be Here in the Morning" or "Heroes and Villains" (In Concert)

Mike - "That's Not Me" (Even though Mike's Voice cracks at one point!)

Bruce "Deirdre"

Blondie "Funky Pretty (tag)" with the Beach Boys
Or "See The Light" with The Flame.  He out McCartney's McCartney on that one...

Ricky "Here She Comes"

*Props goes to Anna Lee, the Healer for containing the most beautiful group vocals I've heard from anyone, ever...

[Austin]

This was fun. Here are my votes:

Brian: How do you even choose? I could give you four I love equally (IJWMFTT, WIBN, KMB, SU66), but right now I'll just say "Don't Worry Baby." Touching delivery, amazing tone, and a fragility that I've always resonated with.

Carl: "God Only Knows." You could find a dozen great contenders for Carl's best, but for me this has always been the one, and I'm not sure I can articulate why.

Dennis: "Forever." I love his voice on Sunflower, and "Slip On Through" is a very close second for me, but this one edges out. Gruff beauty; whatever he did that day, he imparted that message 100%.

Mike: "Fun, Fun, Fun." Some folks are going to say "All I Wanna Do," which is cool, but I think a large reason that's impressive is because he doesn't sing like that very often. "Fun, Fun, Fun," on the other hand, is the man in his prime. This is what he loves to sing about -- and you hear it in every last syllable.

Al: "Help Me Rhonda." This, along with "Then I Kissed Her," describes Al at his best: bright, boyish, spirited, versatile. Vocally, the secret weapon.

Bruce: "Disney Girls." When I hear this one, it sounds like a guy who was raised on old standards, the classics. And there's something about that youthful tone and delivery that's totally well-suited to lamenting a bygone decade.

[CarlTheVoice]

It is very hard to find Carl's best song, although probably relatively easy for the others. I of course love TTGA - I think it's so amazing, but to be honest Carl sang beautifully in every song. He sang from the heart and that is why you just have to listen to his lead songs. It kind of draws me in without knowing it's happening!

[urbanite]

Brian W.   Wouldn't it Be Nice
Carl W.     Darlin'
Mike L.      California Girls and Don't Go Near the Water

[Pinder's Gone To Kokomo And Back Again]

Brian: Smart Girls or In My car (a tie, I guess)
Mike: Summer Of Love
Carl: God Only Knows (Australia 78)
Dennis: Got To Know The Woman
Al: PT Cruiser
Bruce: Deirdre (Goin Public version)

[armona]

Al - Help Me Rhonda
Brian - Caroline No
Mike L. - Cabinessence tag
Dennis - Do You Wanna Dance
Carl - I Can Hear Music
Bruce - Dierdre
Blondie - Sail on Sailor

[hypehat]

Brian: Smart Girls or In My car (a tie, I guess)
Mike: Summer Of Love
Carl: God Only Knows (Australia 78)
Dennis: Got To Know The Woman
Al: PT Cruiser
Bruce: Deirdre (Goin Public version)

Oh my god

[Griffmanr]

Brian: Smart Girls or In My car (a tie, I guess)
Mike: Summer Of Love
Carl: God Only Knows (Australia 78)
Dennis: Got To Know The Woman
Al: PT Cruiser
Bruce: Deirdre (Goin Public version)

Hey, Dennis' vocal in Got to Know the Woman is great!!

[Pinder's Gone To Kokomo And Back Again]

It is indeed great!

This was only a partially jokey list!

I must admit that, due to all the slamming it gets around here, I tend to listen to Summer Of Love quite often. To revel in how awful it is, of course, but then again it's so freakin catchy I just have to play it over and over, and then at some point it doesn't matter how bad it is because everything about it just suddenly works and all it's cheesy points and the awful/backward decisions that went into it's creation don't matter and it's so damn uncool that it's ends up beyond cool! And just watch Mike's face in the video: the man really really really means every damn word!!!

[Griffmanr]

It is indeed great!

This was only a partially jokey list!

I must admit that, due to all the slamming it gets around here, I tend to listen to Summer Of Love quite often. To revel in how awful it is, of course, but then again it's so freakin catchy I just have to play it over and over, and then at some point it doesn't matter how bad it is because everything about it just suddenly works and all it's cheesy points and the awful/backward decisions that went into it's creation don't matter and it's so damn uncool that it's ends up beyond cool! And just watch Mike's face in the video: the man really really really means every damn word!!!

I definitely agree with you.  I do enjoy listening to Summer of Love, but I don't think I'll ever like it in a serious fashion.  It's like the "Friday" of Beach Boys songs. 

[NHC]

Mike:  409
Brian:  Don't Worry Baby
Carl:  I Can Hear Music
Dennis:  This Car of Mine
Al:  Cottonfields
Bruce:  Deidre

[Newguy562]

Wow i Forgot Mike's Best Vocals Are On "Cabin essence" When He Sings "Over and over, the crow cries, uncover the cornfield. Over and over, the thresher and plover, the wheatfield". It's mystic and almost hypnotizing